


Expectations are Better Met with Dragons

by Bookdragon1013, Nebulapaws, YeetAroundTheBush



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda (Video Game 1986)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Berk (How to Train Your Dragon), But Wind and Hyrule are adopted, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Mild Blood, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spoilers for the movies sorta, Twilight Wild Wind and Hyrule are all siblings, cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:36:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29504925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookdragon1013/pseuds/Bookdragon1013, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nebulapaws/pseuds/Nebulapaws, https://archiveofourown.org/users/YeetAroundTheBush/pseuds/YeetAroundTheBush
Summary: Vikings and dragons have been at war for as long as Hyrule could remember,  but a fateful shot at a near-mythical Night Fury may change that.OR;;Linked Universe but its How to Train Your Dragon.
Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Wind (Linked Universe), Four & Hyrule (Linked Universe), Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe), Wind & Hyrule (Linked Universe)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter I

**Author's Note:**

> This is honestly the biggest project I've ever had so far, and I'm s u p e r excited to get it rolling. 
> 
> And thanks to Dragon and Bush for workin' with me to write this!

_**Dragons and Vikings have**_ been locked in a bitter war for as long as Hyrule could remember, like a fatal game of tug-o-war, a cycle where a dragon would slaughter a Viking and then the Viking would respond by killing a dragon and then the dragon would respond in kind. 

Well… you get the point. 

Dragons had stolen Hyrule’s parents away from him before he even got to know them, and since then, he hasn’t exactly been _fond_ of them. 

An earth-shattering _BOOM!_ Snapped Hyrule from his musings. 

Oh. Right. The raid. 

Hyrule gazed outside to find the village in complete pandemonium. 

Monstrous Nightmares clambered across unsuspecting homes like spiders, shooting crackling jets of brilliant orange fire at their assailants, deadly nadders circled the Great Hall like hawks, swooping down with gnarled claws bared only to get forcefully battered away by Time and Sun. In the distance, Hyrule thought he saw _something_ shift in the barren night sky, but he may have just been seeing things. 

Someone shoved a rather hefty stack of weapons into Hyrule’s arms, nearly unbalancing him. He snapped his head around to see Four levelling him with a rather unimpressed look. 

Hyrule was just about to defend himself when Wind spoke from around his own stack of weapons. “Hey, Four, so...about that catapult—” 

“No,” Four interrupted. “I don’t want you idiots to break it. and besides, we have work to do. Also, it’s a _ballista,_ not a catapult.” 

Wind pouted, jutting out a dejected bottom lip. “But this is the _perfect_ time to take out a dragon!” he protested.

Four’s eyes narrowed and he looked like he wanted to argue more, but a harsh voice from behind them cut the smithy off. Four’s father, Ezlo.“What are you two still doing here? Get out there, men are dying!”

Ezlo was a rather short man with a shaggy white beard and snowy hair covered by an oxen horn helmet. He carried around a rather hefty battle-axe that Four explained was his mother's and a bearskin vest. He pat his son roughly on the back, causing the boy to stumble a little, then grabbed Hyrule and Wind by the backs of their tunics and practically _pushed_ them out the forge.

As soon as Hyrule left the forge, he was struck with how _bad_ it really was outside. He could practically taste the mephitic gas with how thick it was. The calm night was set ablaze in gold and angry red, the quiet slashed by battle cries and massive wing beats. Now he was absolutely _sure_ that something had zipped by from above him.

He shot a look to Wind and sent him a mischievous grin, and snuck behind the forge. Four had shown them the ballista the day before. It was a modest thing made with plain oak wood, situated on a mahogany cart and polished to high heaven. 

He pushed it to the nearby bluff and loaded it with the first net he could find. His body was buzzing with excitement, and not even the choking smell of smoke could put a damper on the sense of anticipation that flooded through his veins. He looked through the small glass scope and searched for a dragon he could shoot at. 

A bright blue blast immediately caught his attention. Whipping around, he could just barely make out a massive shape among the night sky, charging up another devastating blow. 

Belatedly, it hit Hyrule that he’d seen this dragon and that this dragon was none other than a _Night Fury_. 

He took aim while the dragon was busy attempting to steal one of Time’s sheep. He took a deep, readying breath. He cast a look to Wind and then fired the ballista, barely noticing the pushback it gave because of the sudden adrenaline that was thrumming through his fingers. 

The figure was enveloped in the tan net and launched into the forest below it. Wind cheered beside him, and Hyrule grinned proudly. “I did it! I did it! I shot a _Night Fury!_ ”

His celebration was cut short however when he heard a deep guttural snarl sound off from behind him. 

The traveller whipped around instantly to come face to face with a ruby red Monstrous Nightmare. Its lips were pulled back in a deep snarl, it pulled back its head and let out the loudest roar that Hyrule’s ever heard in his life. Flames crackled and spat from its mouth, and Hyrule instinctively stepped in front of Wind. If he was gonna die, then at least he’ll die knowing Wind would be safe—

But the flames never came. 

Hyrule peeled open an eye he had no idea he closed to see a man locked in a fierce battle with the beast. It was Time. 

He pulled the Monstrous Nightmare’s gnarled horns back until it was stumbling to balance itself and practically _threw_ it on its side. The beast responded by bursting into flames and snarling at Time, something deep and primal. Time didn’t even flinch, instead, he silently unsheathed his sword (Hyrule was pretty sure he even named it biggeron) and brandished it in kind. He slashed the sword in a wide arc, clipping the dragon’s snout. It hissed and spluttered like a bonfire and lunged at him. The Viking rolled away just in time, making the dragon bash into a house instead. 

With the Monstrous Nightmare stuck in the rubble of the house, he deftly slashed at the beast's neck, and grabbed its tail and pulled it from the rubble. Before he could finish it, it flew clumsily away. Time fixed Hyrule and Wind with one of his signature Disappointed Dad glares, as if he hadn’t just fought toe-to-toe with a gigantic arson monster.

“What in Odin’s name were you thinking?” Time snapped, and Hyrule shrank back. He didn’t mean for their adventure to end in such a disaster.

“But we actually got one this time!” Wind said, not in the least bit shaken from what just happened. Time pinched the bridge of his nose. “Got _what_ this time?” he asked with a tired sigh. 

“A Night Fury!” Wind replied with a grin. His confidence was infectious because Hyrule stepped up to add to the story. “We shot it down just over Raven Point, we could go searching for it—” 

“Stop,” Time intervened, looking exhausted. “Just—just _stop_. Can you not see that I have bigger problems here? Those dragons got into our food storage, they got our livestock, and winter is almost here!” Time took a breath. He was the best farmer in Hyrule, and most of the island’s food was provided by him. It was a blow to his pride to have so much taken this raid.

“Just...go home,” Time said. His piercing glare didn’t leave any room for argument. “Ezlo, make sure they get to the house in one piece.”

Hyrule slunk into their farmhouse with Wind at his tail, muttering a quiet and resigned "thanks" to Ezlo as he went. He cast one last look at the devastation outside--now somewhat calmer since some dragons had fled--and sighed. Meanwhile, Wind was jumping excitedly up and down with a wide grin on his face. 

The house had clearly been shaken up. Time and Malon’s ceremonial axe had fallen from its hook on the wall and mugs were strewn about on the cobblestone floor. A chair from the table in the centre of the room had been flipped over and the hearth was basically dead. Malon didn’t seem concerned about the mess, however, instead, she was at her son’s side, a comforting presence. Wild hated it when people talked to him when he was like this, he said it was extremely overwhelming.

As soon as they got in, Wind was regaling the daring tale about how they’d taken down a _real_ Night Fury, then got ambushed by a Monstrous Nightmare probably trying to avenge its fallen brethren. Malon smiled politely, but Twilight couldn’t seem to hide his disbelief. 

Hyrule supposed he couldn’t blame him; Night Furies were, allegedly, extinct. You can’t kill something that doesn’t necessarily exist. 

Hyrule sat heavily next to Wild, who was curled up in the seat next to him looking absolutely terrified. He gave his adoptive brother a side hug. Ever since he was ten, Wild had been absolutely _terrified_ of dragons. They had broken into their farm home and burned the entire place down, searing Wild’s entire left side. It was honestly amazing how the boy had survived. 

Soon the noises outside faded into nothing but crickets and cheers of victory, most likely as the dragons fled the town. Hyrule stretched his stiff muscles and quickly slunk upstairs to his room, taking care to not trip over the bearskin on the floor, and fell heavily in his bed. 

Despite the unending exhaustion that dragged his bones, he couldn’t help but feel excited. Tomorrow he’d find a way to sneak out and check Raven Point to see if he could find his catch. Hopefully, he’d bring Wind and Four along too. 

XxxxX

“You want me to abandon my job the night after a raid, when I'll need to help repair the village, to go hunting for some dragon you _think_ you saw?” Four asked, his voice deadpan. He poured molten silver into a mould.

“Pretty much,” Wind chirped.

“How do you know you didn’t hit a bird?”

“It must have been a very large, fire-breathing bird then. Now hurry up we don’t have much time!”

“If I come to see the dragon will you stop pestering me?” Four mumbled something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like “if it actually exists.” He doused a metal rod in an ice-cold bucket of water at his side. “But only to see how well my ballista worked. You said it shot good right?” 

Wind spoke before Hyrule could. “Yup!” 

Four grinned. “At least one part of this trip won’t be a bust.”

As they snuck past Four's father and exited the forge, they heard a _very_ disappointed voice call to them. "Now _what_ do you think you're doing?"

Time.

And it looked like Time failed to notice Hyrule. Wind hastily replied. "U-uh, we just went to visit Four!"

Hyrule slipped behind Four and into the forge while Time was focussed on Wind. He felt a bit bad, both in worrying Time and in making Wind take the brunt of Time's scolding, but..

He couldn’t think about that now. 

He heard Time ask Four where he was, only for the smithy to shrug. Time sighed and heavy footsteps told Hyrule the man had left. 

He was just about to sneak out the back door when Four grabbed the back of his vest and pulled him away. “Just what the bloody hell did you think you were doing?” 

“Uhh… sneaking away and trying to find that dragon?” Hyrule grinned nervously, scratching the back of his head. 

Once again, Four let out a tired and resigned sigh. “You really wanna see this dragon, huh?”

“Absolutely,” Hyrule said seriously, his ears twitching. 

“Then let’s get this over with so I can say I was eating lunch. Show me your large fire-breathing bird.”

XxxxX

Hyrule and Four trudged through the brilliant green woods. It was a rather beautiful day out today; dapples of sunshine leaked through the trees and a chilly breeze danced through the tall pines, making them sway calmly. The sky was a brilliant steel-blue with fluffy white clouds drifting lazily by.

Hyrule tried to look for signs of a crash, some fallen trees here or snapped twigs there, but he couldn’t find any. He groaned and ruffled his hair impatiently. “Urggg, where _is_ it?”

Four looked up at him sympathetically. “Perhaps it’s not in this part of the woods?” 

“Maybe but...I coulda sworn I saw it fall here,” Hyrule stopped when he felt something dig into his side. When he looked, he realized his vest had been caught on a branch of a felled pine tree. It was snapped unnaturally as if struck by lightning. 

...or something heavy smashed into it. 

A sudden grin broke onto Hyrule’s face and he grabbed Four’s arm and _yanked_ him in the direction that the felled tree was pointing. When he finally got to the end of the trail of destruction, his breath was knocked out of his lungs. 

Lying in the brush, tangled in a net was a _real_ dragon. A dragon he’d never seen before. As dark as the moonless night. It had wild-looking teal-ish green eyes and gigantic wings. 

A Night Fury.

It struggled uselessly in its binds, snarling with frustration and anger. Its wings fruitlessly tried to expand, and its tail whipped and lashed with renewed desperation. It looked kinda… sad.

Hyrule exchanged a look with Four. So far, the Night Fury was so absorbed in trying to escape, it failed to notice two teenage boys practically staring at it. The traveller had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

With trembling hands, Hyrule pulled out a silver knife that Four had crafted for him on his 13th birthday. 

“S-should we kill it?” Hyrule started, his voice trembling. He rubbed his sweaty palms against his trousers. “M-maybe you should k-kill it.” 

Four put his hands up, a strange amber glint in his eye. “No way, I’m a smithy, not a fighter.” 

_He’s right_ . Hyrule thought distantly. _Plus, it's my catch. I should be the one to kill it._

He hesitantly stepped up to the dragon, who’d finally noticed them. It was looking up at Hyrule with pinprick eyes, all fight in it gone. He raised the dagger above his head. He was shaking like a leaf in a gale, he could _feel_ it.

“I-I’m a Viking!” he yelled. To whom, he didn’t know. “And Vikings _kill_ dragons!” 

He thought back to Legend. His idol. The one Viking Hyrule just _knew_ he’d love to grow up to be. Legend was tough, and never backed down from a fight. He was brave. Hyrule was not. But if he killed this dragon and _proved_ to Legend—and everyone else who may have doubted him—that he really _did_ have the heart to kill dragons, maybe then they’d take him seriously. 

“I’m gonna r-rip out your heart and—and—” He stumbled over his words when he really _saw_ the Night Fury. It had closed its eyes, its body completely relaxing. As if it was accepting its fate like it _knew_ it was going to get run clean through with Hyrule’s blade. 

It was trapped with no way of escape. 

Hyrule made up his mind. He lowered the blade with shaking hands and grabbed part of the net around the dragon’s neck. He sawed at it for a moment before it snapped with a _twang!_ He moved to cut the rest of the Night Fury’s binds. He chose to ignore Four’s protests for the moment, perhaps if he had the guts, he could explain why he was doing this. 

When the last of the ropes fell away, the dragon peeled open its eyes. Its eyes zipped to every tree and bush in the clearing, as if committing them to memory. Then sprung upwards. It hunched its back, spread its grand black wings and _snarled_ . The deepest snarl Hyrule had ever heard, it even put that Monstrous Nightmare from the night before to _shame._

It leapt on Hyrule in a flash and _roared_. Before it could properly blast Hyrule’s face off though, it spun around—whacking Hyrule in the face with its tail as it went—and took off into the air.

Hyrule scrambled up from where he laid on the grass and backed up slowly. He heard a roar and a crash. 

Before he could really process just _what_ happened, Four grabbed his arm and _ran_. 


	2. Chapter II

**_As soon as_ **they reached the farmhouse, the weight of his situation finally crashed down upon him. Shame flooded his senses and Hyrule seized Four’s arm quickly before the smithy could leave. 

“You _can’t_ tell anyone. _Please_ . I know you’re probably going to but _please_ don’t.”

“This’ll stay between us.” Four paused, putting his hand on Hyrule’s shoulder and wryly grinning up at him. “You did the right thing.”

Four looked at the disappearing sun, cringing when he realised how late it was, the sun dipped below the horizon painting the now peach sky in swaths of brilliant orange and scorching red which splashed the island in buttery auriferous light. Hyrule waved goodbye as Four jogged away. He sucked in a deep steadying breath before slowly pushing the door open with a creak.

“Nice of you to join us,” Time said casually, taking a bite of sheep leg. Hyrule cringed, eyes darting around the room. Wind waved at him before going back to braiding Ayrll’s hair. He had the kicked puppy pout on his face. Time must have scolded him pretty harshly. Twilight, Malon, and Wild all sat at the table, conversation halting as soon as he entered.

“Yeah. Hi,” he muttered, hand coming to scratch at the back of his head.

“Where were you? It’s almost past sunset. You know the night brings dangers.” Malon said, concern plain on her face.

“I was exploring the woods. Clearing my head n’ all that,” he mumbled, it wasn’t a total lie he supposed. He really _was_ out in the woods; and he certainly _did_ go to clear his mind, all right. Twilight snorted before turning his attention back to his meal. Wild smirked knowingly.

“The woods are a place full of many mysteries.” Wild nodded sagely, a teasing lilt to his voice. Twilight flicked his ear, eliciting an indigent “ow!” from the blonde boy.

“Well come have a seat, your food isn’t going to eat itself. We do have to have a little talk afterwards though.” Time patted the chair next to him. “Now tell me what you found in the woods today,” he said with a small smile.

Hyrule practically inhaled his dinner, feeling the effects of not eating for the majority of the day. In between bites, he managed to come up with a story about a cool rock he found. Time nodded “do you have the rock _on_ you?”

“Uh, well, I decided to leave it in the forest because that was its...natural...habitat?” The last word came out as a squeaked question. He could faintly see Wind trying his best not to facepalm.

“ _ANY_ ways what was it you needed to talk to me about?” Hyrule set his plate down, turning his head to look at Time. Time cleared his throat, gesturing for Ayrll, Wild, and Twilight to leave. Was he in trouble? Probably. He was probably grounded for life. At least Wind would keep him company in the isolation. He shouldn’t have tried to kill a dragon. He wasn’t cut out for this. _He would never kill a drag-_

“I'm putting you two in dragon killing class.” _What?_ Was…was he dreaming? He was probably dead, and this is the afterlife. The dragon killed him after all.

“REALLY?!” Wind exclaimed, a huge smile on his face. Hyrule inconspicuously pinched himself as Time cleared his throat.

“I won’t always be around to save you from danger. Malon convinced me you two need _some_ level of training.” Malon smiled slyly at them before stretching exaggeratedly.

“It’s getting late, and you two have a whole day of learning tomorrow,” she said, standing up. Hyrule thought back to the Night Fury in the woods. He wouldn’t be able to kill a dragon if he tried.

“Thanks, Father Time!” Wind bolted up the stairs into the loft, disappearing and effectively leaving Hyrule stranded with his father. Time pinched the bridge of his nose before turning his gaze to Hyrule. 

“What are you waiting for? I’m sure by the end of your training you’ll be very adept in killing dragons.” 

“I think that—that maybe it would be better if I didn't learn? Because you saw what happened last night, and I could have gotten people hurt and I probably wouldn’t be good at it and—” He snapped his mouth shut when Time put his hand on Hyrule’s shoulder. 

“Hyrule. You are going to be great at anything you choose to do. Just yesterday you were going on about taking down a _Night Fury_ . If anyone could manage the impossible, it would be you. You’re going to be the best dragon slayer on this side of the map if you choose to be. Make me proud, son.” Hyrule was engulfed in a hug and felt himself tearing up. Son. _He called me his son._

“G’night Time,” he mumbled, hastily pulling away from Time’s hug and making his way up into the loft. He was going to have a very sleepless night. 

XxxxX

“Wake up Roolie! We’re gonna get to stab dragons and shit!” 

Hyrule blearily sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Wind tugged on his arm, dragging him out of bed and downstairs to breakfast. Wild silently slid a plate of bread and eggs in front of him, and Hyrule murmured a sleepy thank you. 

“Aren’t you excited? I am!” Wind chirped, shoving a forkful of eggs into his mouth. Hyrule shrugged. His stomach soured as he realized just _what,_ exactly, Wind was so excited about. The food in his mouth suddenly felt like it was choking him. He really didn’t want to go to dragon training. 

It was all too soon before they were being ushered out the door with weapons in hand. Hyrule cast one mournful glance back at the farmhouse and steeled himself for whatever torture he was about to go through. 

Outside was dreary and cold, telltale signs of winter soon approaching. The air was stagnant and still, and storm clouds blotted out the sunlight making everything seem prematurely dark. A chill ran through Hyrule’s spine. He shook his hands in an attempt to clear his nerves.

As the caged dome of the arena came into view, Hyrule began to panic. Towering grey cliffs loomed over the two as they passed underneath a mouldy wooden sign reading _Dragon Training - Instructor: Warriors._

A nervous sweat made Hyrule’s palms slick, and he nearly dropped his axe at how badly he startled when a girl’s voice called out. “Wind, there you are, you little shit!” 

His gaze snapped up to find Tetra bounding up to them. Wind grinned, hefting his own axe and waving animatedly. As the two conversed, Hyrule let his attention wander to everyone else in the arena. His jaw dropped as he discovered something _very_ concerning—

The arena was full of kids _. Small_ kids. 

“Oh, Hylia no,” he whispered. 

He spotted Warriors talking with Legend on the other side of the arena. Hyrule hesitantly jogged up to them and interrupted whatever they were talking about. “Um, hello,” he said, rubbing his hands together nervously. “I— I think there might’ve been a mistake or something? Because these are…” He gulped and whispered the last sentence. “These are _kids._ ” 

Warriors didn’t bat an eye. “Sure are. This is the Junior Dragon Training class.” 

“...Ah.” 

_Junior?_ He thought. _Time put me in the_ Junior _class?_

Legend shared a glance with Wars. “We’ll continue this conversation later,” he grumbled. Warriors nodded, a grim frown tugging at the edge of his lips. This piqued Hyrule’s interest. _What were they talking about before he left?_

Warriors pulled away from the two of them and clapped his hands. “Gather ‘round, kids! Welcome to Dragon Training. Today, we’ll be learning about...” 

Hyrule stopped listening. He couldn’t get over the fact that Time had put him in the _kid’s_ class. _Maybe_ Hyrule was scrawny, and okay, _maybe_ he was on the younger side of fourteen—but that was still _years_ older than these other kids. 

He returned to Wind, who was sulking behind the crowd of children around Wars. “I can’t believe Father Time would do this,” Wind grumbled. “He put me in a class with fucking _five-year-olds._ ” 

Hyrule sighed. “Tetra is in this class, isn’t she?” he asked. Wind deepened his scowl. 

“She’s volunteering, so she’s not actually in the class. Unlike _us._ ” A dangerous glint entered Wind’s eyes and a worrisome smile curled his lips. “When this is over, the Old Man has another thing coming…” 

“Just promise not to murder him, and I’m on board,” Hyrule said. He got concerned for Wind, sometimes. 

“Alright, today we’ll be doing a running exercise. Since you’re a bit young to have an actual dragon chase you, we’re going to use this!” Warriors brandished a wooden mask that resembled a deadly nadder. It’s uncanny smile and sharp teeth made some of the younger kids squeal in fear. “My assistant Tetra will pick who gets to be the big scary dragon!”

“Which of you shrimps wants to be the dragon?” Tetra snatched the mask from Warriors, looking as each of the kids jumped up and down and tried to get her attention. Hyrule shifted slightly, then froze as her eyes snapped to him. He shouldn’t have moved.

“Wind!” Tetra called, dramatically brandishing the mask towards the sailor. “I choose you to be the dragon!” Wind scowled, snatching the mask. Tetra looked very proud of herself. Wind looked like he was contemplating murder.

“Fine. But maybe, as the teacher’s assistant, you should help demonstrate.” Wind put the mask on, immediately bolting towards Tetra. She dodged, and the kids took that as their cue to run away from the ‘scary dragon’. Hyrule watched as Wind sprinted around the arena cackling wildly, Tetra leading him towards the kids, maybe to help them stay entertained? 

He really wasn’t sure what to do. There was _no_ way he was going to participate in this, every time Wind dashed his way Hyrule hastily backpedalled. He eventually found himself with his back to the wall of the cage. Tetra and Wind ran past him. At least Wind wasn’t going for him.

“Hey Hyrule, can you help me with something?” Warriors asked, gesturing for him to follow. Hesitantly, Hyrule followed the instructor to the gates of the arena. Warriors leaned against the wall, folding his arms together and fiddling with his clothen scarf. “Are you okay?” 

Hyrule looked away, unable to hold the older man’s gaze. “I just...Uhm… Think maybe me being in this class was a mistake?” 

He shifted his weight a little. _Oh, Odin please give me strength_.

“I guess I was excited Time was letting me learn to fight? But now it’s obvious he doesn’t trust me enough to put me in the proper class. He-he thinks I’m weak. I probably shouldn't even be at the kiddy class,” he muttered while looking down, heat rising in his face. Warriors cleared his throat.

“While I can’t tell you what Time is thinking, I can tell you this; he doesn’t think you’re weak. He’s scared for you.” Hyrule paused. _Scared?_ Time seemed more disappointed in him than anything. “He’s scared something is going to happen to you and he’s going to have to watch you suffer. He already saw it happen to one of his kids. He doesn’t want it to happen to another.”

Hyrule guiltily thought back to Wild and the burn scars that marred the left side of his body and tried to suppress a recoil. _Right._

“A-anyways, what do you need help with?” Hyrule really didn’t want to talk about this anymore. He glanced back to the arena and saw Wind tackle Tetra. At least one of them was having fun.

“Right! Time must have registered you two for the wrong class. When the mistake gets corrected, you’ll need this.” Warriors pulled a well-worn book from seemingly nowhere. Hyrule grabbed it gently, reading the cover. _A Book Of Dragons_. “That has everything you need to know about dragons. Study it well and you might just die of old age!” 

Hyrule nodded, glancing back to the arena again. Tetra had all but kicked Wind off of her, snickering like a fox. Wind rolled across the ground and leapt upwards, his face behind the mask no doubt twisted into a scowl. The other kids were being largely ignored at this point. Hyrule brought the old, weathered book close to his chest with a grateful smile. _At the very least, it’s a good distraction._

Hyrule gave Warriors a quiet “thank you” and then walked back to the chaos in the arena. During the conversation with Wars, it apparently had started to drizzle. Fat droplets of rain sprayed into the arena and soon formed puddles in the worn ground. Hyrule shivered, a deep chill coming with his newly drenched clothes. 

Warriors let out a whistle to draw everyone’s attention. “All right, it seems we’re gonna have to end class a little bit early due to rain--” a couple of groans from some of the kids. Hyrule didn’t fail to notice Wind’s disappointed look, either. “But we have class first thing in the morning tomorrow!” 

XxxxX

The trudge back home was _irksome._ It wasn’t long per se, but it sure _felt_ long. Each step Hyrule made, made increasingly deeper indents in the softening ground. His hair was absolutely soaked, and his clothes stuck unpleasantly to his skin. The rain was also cold, biting into his skin like mini icicles. But Hyrule was rather good at hiding his displeasure. Wind, however, was not. 

Almost as soon as they got in the farmhouse, Wind practically chucked his sopping wet bison fur coat on the ground—which Hyrule hung up immediately—and groaned audibly. 

Hyrule gently pulled the book Warriors had given him out from underneath his tunic. It was slightly damp, if not a bit cold, but otherwise dry. He took one glance at Wind who’d slumped by the crackling hearth to warm up a little and then plodded upstairs. When he got to his desk, he all but collapsed in the wooden chair and flipped open the book. 

Thunder roared in the distance, soaking his room in a foreboding blue light, not unlike the blast from a Night Fury. 

The pages were yellow with age, slightly discoloured in places where the remnants of old stains remained. On the pages were gruesome pictures of death by different dragons, along with what Hylians knew of the species. “ _Dragon classifications,_ ” Hyrule read aloud. “ _Strike class, mystery class, fear class…_ ” He flipped through more pages until he came upon the illustration of a dragon with a massive mouth and flathead. “ _Thunderdrum_ ,” he read. “ _This reclusive dragon inhabits sea areas, and when provoked can release a concussive blast at close range that is strong enough to knock a man’s head off. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight._ ” 

He skimmed more pages, each with grisly illustrations and descriptions. _“Timberjack. This gigantic creature has razor-sharp wings that can cut through trees…”_ He blinked at the large creature on the page, shown slicing through a forest and then through a man. _“Scauldron_ —” he began, but a thunderous _boom_ echoed through his room followed by another flash of lightning. He yelped, nearly jumping out of his skin. 

Uneasy and agitated now, Hyrule hesitantly continued.

 _“...Changewing. Even newly hatched dragons can spray deadly acid...Extremely dangerous, kill on sight.”_ Every page had that term. _Extremely dangerous, kill on sight._

Gronkles. Zipplebacks. _The Skrill,_ Boneknapper, Whispering Death—

Burns its victims, buries its victims, turns its victims inside out...Hyrule shivered and quickly turned the pages until he came upon the last page in the book. 

_“The Night Fury,”_ he read. 

The page was blank. No picture, no information, all just...empty, save for a small paragraph at the bottom. _“Size: Unknown. Speed: Unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself._ Never _engage with this dragon_. “

_“Your only chance: hide and pray it does not find you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha for this chapter, I mostly did the beta reading and adding a few things here and there, so it was mostly Bush and Dragon! so like, shout at them !
> 
> Also! we now have a schedule! Chapters will come out every week (hopefully) on Saturdays or Sundays!


	3. Chapter III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw; regurgitation

**_Hyrule didn’t get_ ** much sleep after that.

His mind was positively  _ plagued _ with guilt. 

Was all that really true? Did he spare a  _ monster _ ? 

_ Your only chance is to hide and pray it doesn’t find you _ .

The entry stood out like a sore thumb to him; no picture. No information. Not even a general description of what anyone may theorize it to be, just... _ the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. _

But… that...that didn’t seem right. 

It couldn’t possibly be true; why would the  _ unholy offspring of lightning and literal DEATH  _ spare his life? Why would it look him directly in the eye, and immediately back down? 

It didn’t fight him. It gave up. 

_ Pray it doesn’t find you _ . 

No. that  _ really  _ didn’t seem right. None of that felt right at all. 

Hyrule took a deep steeling breath. He should find out more. No. he was  _ going _ to find out more. 

Making up his mind, he quietly unhooked his moleskin bag from the hook above his bed. He stuffed his leather-bound notebook into it, along with the book of dragons just in case. He knew it was wrong; he was breaking Time’s trust  _ once again _ to go visit a literal death spawn but…

It just seemed...wrong not to. 

Hyrule cast a look to Wind’s sleeping form. The boy was curled up into a ball, snores rivalling Wild’s. He, Wind and Wild all shared a room since there wasn’t really much space in the farmhouse for individual rooms. He didn’t mind one bit; in fact, he rather revelled in their company. They’d immediately know he went missing though, and that just won’t do. 

He gently pulled a paper from his notebook, dipped his pen in the inkwell and wrote in his scratchy handwriting a simple:  _ I’m going to Four’s forge to help him out a little. I’ll be back by sundown. -Rule.  _

Before he could step out the door, however, he heard a deep and  _ very _ annoyed groan. 

When he whipped around, he saw Wind staring with half-lidded eyes at him. Before Hyrule could properly explain, the boy’s face seemed to light up with realization. He practically  _ leapt _ up, and in a stage whisper said “You’re gonna see that dragon, aren’t cha?”

Hyrule paled.  _ Oh f- _ “N-no?” 

“You’re terrible at lying, you know that?” There was no malice in his voice, only fondness. Hyrule embarrassingly thought back to the “rock” incident. “Well don’t worry,  _ I’m _ coming with you!”

“Why?” Hyrule blurted.  _ Oh, Hel, I forgot the ink well, _ he thought distantly.

“Oh gee, I wonder why I’d come with my brother to see a gigantic fire breathing dragon that I helped take down,” Wind deadpanned. “Now come on, ‘Rule. I helped! Therefore, it’s my dragon to see, too!”

He decided to abstain from telling Wind that he’d already seen the dragon. That he...

He really didn’t want to let him down.

So instead, he let out a defeated sigh and adjusted his grip on the moleskin bag. “Come on then,” 

Wind whooped happily and practically bolted out of the room and down the stairs. 

XxxxX

It wasn’t that hard to find the Night Fury, as it turned out. 

About a hundred yards north from the clearing where he and Four had originally encountered the dragon, was a suspicious-looking hollow about fifty feet deep. Skid marks, slightly marred by last night’s rainfall, lead directly inside the odd pit. When Hyrule peeked over the edge, he was surprised to see a rather beautiful looking clearing below. A lake sat in the centre of the glade, a deep cerulean and glittering like jewels. An odd twisting tree rose from above the rich green grass, a branch arching over the lake, swaying softly in the wind and casting speckled shadows across the valley. 

Throwing all caution to the wind, Hyrule skidded down the cliffside quickly followed by Wind. The two boys looked around for any signs that maybe a fire-breathing dragon resided here.

After about five minutes of looking, Wind let out a deep annoyed sigh. “How hard is it to find a big black dragon?” 

Hyrule ran his thumb up the strap of his bag nervously. “I don’t know? I guess this  _ is _ a pretty big island.”  _ But I coulda sworn I saw…. _

Suddenly, Wind’s face lit up. A large smile tugged at his lips and crinkled his eyes. Hyrule hated that look; it was the look Wind got before he played a particularly clever — if not a bit cruel — prank on Twilight. The  _ I’ve got an idea _ look. He promptly pulled out a smoked herring from a bag Hyrule had forced him to carry. 

“ _What_ _are you doing_ ,” Hyrule whisper-shouted. The sailor didn’t answer, instead, he threw the fish on the ground as if that wasn’t the biggest waste in the world and shushed him. 

Then he carefully stepped back to Hyrule’s side, with a nefarious grin on his face. Hyrule  _ really _ hated that look. “Look, if it’s here, it’ll come to eat the fish, right? Everyone likes fish.” 

Hyrule had to disagree. For some reason, no one liked the fish he cooked. 

As it turned out though, Wind was right. Slowly, creeping out of the shadows to their left was the Night Fury. It tiptoed hesitantly towards the smoked herring, eyeballing the two the entire time, even as it carefully leaned down and ate the fish. To both their surprise, it seemed to spring up a little and look at them. 

It made a strange rumbling sound and promptly vomited half the herring back onto the ground. 

_ Gross.  _ Hyrule thought.  _ Please don’t tell me _ _ — _

It pushed the tail end of the fish back towards them expectantly, tilting its head. 

Wind gave a cheeky look to Hyrule. “To be honest? This would probably taste better than whatever you’d cook.” 

“Hey!” 

The dragon kept staring though, and Hyrule swallowed what little pride he had at the moment and grabbed the fish.  _ Oh Hel, just take me now _ . He took a  _ very _ hesitant bite. 

And Wind burst out laughing. 

And that horrible horrible Night Fury gave the two a bare tooth smile in return. 

_ Wait. No teeth _ _ — _

Desperate to change the subject, Hyrule blurted “Toothless? But I thought you had teeth — ” 

_**SHNNNN** _

_ Oh. It has retractable teeth _ .

He’d have to tell Four about that, maybe he’d find it interesting.

The regurgitated — _ gross _ — smoked fish was still in his mouth. He mimed swallowing with a deep cringe, then passed Wind the fish.

“Youf turn,” he mumbled through his full mouth. Wind cringed, hesitantly sniffing it. Hyrule couldn’t help the:  _ well who’s laughing now _ that passed through his mind.

“Do I have to? You’ve already done it.” The Night Fury warbled at them, which was a nice reminder they could be dead if they made it mad. Wind took a very small bite, before holding the fish back out for the dragon. It tilted its head, eyes darting to their mouths. 

It  _ knew. _

It reared its head back and  _ oh gods they failed whatever this was it was going to kill them _ _ — _ __

The Night fury swallowed, then stared expectantly at them. Hyrule enjoyed being alive, so he sucked in a breath of air and forced himself to swallow. Its eyes left him, focusing on Wind. It tilted its head, the blacks of its eyes going wide. Its forked tongue flicked out between its jaws. 

Wind let out a muffled groan and followed Hyrule’s suit with a  _ very _ distinct face of disgust. 

Pleased, the Night Fury gladly finished the rest of the fish, trilling happily as it did.

“ _ That was horrible,”  _ Wind whispered to Hyrule with a face that could only be described as a mixture of glee and disgust. 

Hyrule glanced back up at the Night Fury as it fixed Wind with another expectant look. He couldn’t help the traitorous thought that crept in his mind;  _ This doesn’t really look like a bloodthirsty monster. _

He unslung his bag and carefully drew out his notebook, a pen and a half-full ink well. He made his way to a rock on the banks of the sapphire lake and carefully balanced the notebook on his lap. He made to sketch the Night Fury. 

“Why isn’t it gone yet? It’s just kinda... _ wandering _ ,” Hyrule mumbled pensively to his notebook. He glanced back at Wind to see that the sailor was positively  _ glowing _ . He threw another fish — _ just how many fish is this boy  _ carrying — in front of the dragon and watched in awe as it devoured the fish in near-record time. By all accounts, this Night Fury should have deemed them dinner, murdered and ate them, and gone back to its nest. But...it hadn’t even  _ flown _ away. 

By the time that Hyrule was finished sketching the Night Fury, the sun had nearly dropped below the horizon. Panic swelled in his chest for a second. “Wind! We need to go — I said I’d be back by sundown — ”

Wind looked ready to protest. Up until he probably realized Time was going to punish them if they were late. Then the expression melted off his face. He gave the dragon a pat on the head. “Alright  _ fine _ . But we’re coming back!”

“Goodbye, Wanderer,” Hyrule said to the dragon, before turning to scramble up the path and into the forest.

XxxxX

They practically ran back home, just barely making it back before Hyrule’s set curfew. Hyrule sagged in relief and immediately headed back into his room, followed closely by Wind. The sailor still had a rather goofy smile on his face as he collapsed onto his cot. Hyrule gently hung up his bag on the hook above his bed tiredly. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Wild’s voice. 

“So what did you help Four with anyways, that you were at the forge all day?” Wild had an expectant look plastered on his face, a hand on his hip and the other resting uselessly to his side. If he had two eyebrows, Hyrule was sure he’d be raising one of them. As it stands, the scarred boy only had one eyebrow.

Hyrule floundered for a moment before Wind interrupted what was probably going to be another “rock incident” type lie. “We were helping with some of the repairs on the village! There was a house near the docks that had its bracings snapped, and Ezlo asked Four to remake it!”

Wind sent Hyrule a conspiratory grin. Wild seemed to buy the lie, if not a bit hesitantly and gave the two a soft smile. “Well, dinner’s ready. We’re having smoked herring!”

_ Oh, sweet Odin, this must be some cruel joke. _

XxxxX

In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep, Hyrule once more found himself awake and hunched over Wild’s desk. Hyrule shifted his lit candle a little ways away, and moved Wild’s hunting knife off the table and safely in a drawer. Carefully, he withdrew his weathered leather-bound notebook from his moleskin bag and set it down on the table. He opened it to the page with his Night Fury sketch. 

With more care than he’d like to admit, he tore out the page from the notebook, cringing slightly at the soft  _ ssssssss _ as the seams of the book slowly came undone. He closed the notebook and dropped it back in his bag. The traveller carefully scratched out the left tail fin of the Night Fury drawing as he went. He set the  _ Book of Dragons _ down on the table with a soft  _ thump _ , open to the Night Fury page that he’d previously bookmarked. 

He placed the sketch in the blank space of the Night Fury page. Next to “ _ run and pray” _ he scratched the words: “ _ Likes smoked herrings” _ with a fond smile. 

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact! the dialogue isn't written by me; its written by dragon and bush. I can't write good dialogue for shit oof.
> 
> Anyways! Comments, kudos and shares are greatly appreciated! I'm personally doing a bit of a one-shot series on the side, so if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!


End file.
